Knock on wood but on occasion, I have sore back problems. I usually chalk it up to my sorry golf game or to my reckless past.
There are a lot of blameworthy pratfalls in my annals of yesteryear. Here’s a short list: coming off cantering horses; cracking a tailbone rollerblading; one-too-many pick-up basketball games and an assortment of snow-related mishaps from yard-sale ski crashes to some ill-fated snowmobiling capers.
Speaking of snowmobiling, I think I blame that the most. The last one was several years ago in Wyoming.
After a while of herding us in a disordered group on a road or head-to-tail down a path, our guide turned us loose in a snowy meadow — just to get an unrestricted feel of our snowmobiles.
He told us, “Have fun running your machines but avoid the swales around the trees.”
No sooner said but a friend and I threw proverbial caution to the four winds and forgot his advice. The two of us tore off from the group at high-speed and within three minutes were racing toward a hill and a tree.
Swale? What’s a swale? My friend fortunately remembered the guide’s admonition and at the last second he turned away. Hooting and hollering — I did not. But I ‘won’ the race.
As soon as I hit the swale, my snowmobile went one way and I went the other. I landed right where the good Lord splits you.
After grunting, groaning and griping, I eased myself out of the deep snow, found my snowmobile, and with a little help from my friends was back astride the Artic Cat. The worse, however, lay ahead. The trip back to the lodge was over miles of icy washboard road. I still wince remembering every single teeth-chattering reprimanding rut and bump all the way back.
The filing cabinet.
So here I was over the weekend recalling all this whereupon I decided I may actually have one more thing to blame for my occasional low back pain. I was cleaning out my billfold — a somewhat rare feat. And I remembered what a longtime lawyer friend once ribbed me about a few years back.
We were having breakfast in a coffee shop. And when the check came, I took out my billfold to pay. But when I put my wallet on the table, he started giving me no end of grief over the heft of my billfold, the “filing cabinet under half of my ass.” He laughed and said my cluttered wallet reminded him of George Costanza’s exploding wallet in Seinfeld.
Well, so much for that recollection. I don’t really know if the wallet is to blame. I’m still going with the snowmobile. But at least for now I’ve taken out all the collected paper, business cards, post-its, receipts and notes out of my wallet — that is, until they accumulate again.
Meanwhile, here’s more Free CLE along with the usual disclaimers about content quality, continued availability, and creditworthiness in your particular jurisdiction.
FREE CLE
Clifford Law Offices
2014 Webinar: “The Ethics of Client Communications”
“Clifford Law Offices is sponsoring a free two-hour continuing legal education program on the ethics of client communications in the seventh annual Clifford Law Offices Continuing Legal Education Series. The 2014 program will cover the dos, don’ts and best practices of lawyer communication with both commercial and consumer clients; issues in ex parte communications between lawyers and adjudicators; and how to avoid breaches of client confidentiality. The program will also address the unique challenges and ethics of client communications in the Internet Age: What can we say about our cases on our websites and in our marketing materials? Can we discuss our cases in private online forums with other lawyers? How do we handle a bad “Yelp” review? Should we accept Facebook “friend” requests from clients? A number of actual cases and hypotheticals will be presented to help attendees understand the ethics of dealing with client communications in light of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The goal of the two hours is to train lawyers on ethical communication with their clients and about their cases.”
Date: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014
Time: 2:30-4:30 p.m.
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Practising Law Institute (PLI)
PLI: Seminars – Exposing and Responding to Human Trafficking in 2014
Total Credits: 3.50 (New York)
Professional Practice: 3.50
Webcast
Date: Feb. 7, 2014
Time: 1:45 to 5:00 PM (Eastern)
- How to define human trafficking
- Who traffickers are and how they operate
- How to interview a victim
- Criminal justice system response to human trafficking
- How to address immigration and other legal issues
- How New York State courts are responding to human trafficking
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S.J. Quinney College of Law – University of Utah
CLE Collection features videos and links to videotaped conferences approved by the Utah State Bar for CLE credit.
Media Podcasts Approved for CLE Credit
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Webinars – Attorney Protective
Approved Multiple Activity Provider in CA and NJ and various other jurisdictions. Check website.
Social Media Ethics for Lawyers
Date: January 30, 2014
Time: 12:00 PM-1:05 Central Time, 1:00 PM-2:05 Eastern Time and 10:00AM Pacific Time
An Ethical Retirement – Ethical issues to consider when you or a partner in your firm retires.
Date: March 26, 2014
Time: 12:00 PM-1:05 Central Time, 1:00 PM-2:05 Eastern Time and 10:00AM Pacific Time
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eMCLE Educational Series - Barkley Court Reporters
(Various archived and forthcoming programs for jurisdictions, including California, Nevada and New York)
Adobe Acrobat for the Legal Profession (1 hour)
“In an ever-increasing technical world, it is essential that members of the legal profession be prepared to navigate electronic files with ease and proficiency. This seminar will give an overview of the key features in Adobe Acrobat for use within the legal profession. (1 Credit – IL, NY nontransitional, CA, NV)”
March 19, 2014 – 11:00 AM Pacific (1:00 PM Central, 2:00 PM Eastern) – Click here
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One Legal University
California State Bar approved MCLE Multiple Activity Provider. NO CHARGE programs:
Saving Trees and Time: eFiling and eService in California
“Tools of the Trade”
“Using our Court Filing, Process Serving, Court Research and Courtesy Copy Products.
“This training is offered multiple times.”
Oranges the Year ‘Round, eFiling & eService in Orange County Superior Court
“This one hour training session walks you through all the steps necessary in order to eFile and eServe your documents in Orange County Superior Court.
“This training is offered multiple times.”
eService: The End to Stuffing Envelopes
“This one-half hour course focuses on eService rules and statutes and will teach you how to add eService to an eFiling or a physical filing order. 1/2 hour MCLE credit provided.
“This training is offered multiple times.“
Who is at the Door? Successfully Serving Summonses and Subpoenas
“This one hour course focuses on California service of process statutes and process serving methodology. 1 hour MCLE credit provided.
“This training is offered multiple times.“
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Photo Credits: “It’s enough to make a horse laugh,” at Wikimedia Commons, image is available from the United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ppmsca.08324, public domain;”Very slippy-weather / etch’d by James Gillray,” at Wikipedia Commons, public domain; ;”A snowmobile tour at Yellowstone National Park,” at Wikimedia Commons, National Park Service photo, public domain.
